


An Old Friend

by ProPinkist



Category: Tales of Zestiria
Genre: Alisha DLC, Angst, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I wish this had happened at some point, apparently there's a trend in my fics where two people who can't sleep talk, guess I need to fix that lol, it would have made Rose more bearable before the end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-27
Updated: 2016-03-27
Packaged: 2018-05-29 08:56:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,681
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6368263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ProPinkist/pseuds/ProPinkist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>En route to find out Sorey's fate, Rose tells Alisha about the one she never knew.</p>
            </blockquote>





	An Old Friend

**Author's Note:**

> *sigh* It's hard writing Alisha DLC!Rose because I have to make her IC for the DLC, which means making her OOC in reality because Rose is just... so... awful... in that episode. I understand her bitterness and frustration, but I feel like they take it too far than is realistic for her character. I kept her slightly snippish here in the beginning, but by the end she's not really like she was in the episode anymore; I'm sorry, I just couldn't write her completely like she is there. Hope it doesn't make the fic unreadable.
> 
> Relates slightly to my last Zestiria fic, "In The Wake Of Your Smile". Though you don't have to read that one to read this.

“You’re awake, aren’t you?”

Alisha rolled over begrudgingly to see Rose sitting cross-legged near her, smirking. She finally sat up herself, and gazed towards the beautiful starry sky outside the cave they were in absentmindedly.

“I just… have a lot on my mind, is all.”

“Princesses need their beauty sleep, you know,” Rose teased. “And don’t you want to be well-rested for where we’re going?”

“I’ve gone many a night without sleep due to stress, I’ll have you know. It’s nothing new,” Alisha said stiffly. Rose had gotten less hostile with her barbs lately, to her relief, but the girl still rubbed her the wrong way occasionally. She was determined to learn the truth though, and get through to her.

Rose’s uptight and condescending behavior (almost a bitterness, Alisha would call it) almost certainly had to do with Sorey. Alisha didn’t yet know with one hundred percent certainty what his fate was… but she doubted her assumptions were wrong at this point. She also knew that Rose would figure out that she knew if she voiced her worries out loud (and probably already suspected), so she kept silent.

“…I’ll sleep eventually. Right now, just please leave me be, if you would.” Alisha turned to Rose pointedly. “Besides, you’re one to talk. Why aren’t _you_ asleep?”

Rose’s amused expression melted away, and she gave a long sigh, shrugging in defeat. “You’ve got me there, I guess. …Stress, huh? There isn’t really anything to be stressed over.”

“I’ll be the judge of that, thank you very much.”

Alisha knew Rose was hurt over whatever had most likely befallen Sorey, but she had just as much of a right to be upset about it as she did. Especially when she didn’t know all the details yet.

Rose sighed again, and scratched behind her ear. They sat in silence for a bit, and Alisha wished the tension between them could ease. They were two people who were destined to be at odds: Alisha had been the Shepherd’s previous Squire, and Rose had eventually replaced her. Jealously was natural from her side: Rose had gotten to be the perfect assistant to Sorey that she couldn’t be, and had gotten to travel all over the world with him. From Rose’s perspective, she was nothing more than another spoiled royal probably, who seemed naïve to what she and the others had gone through.

…But Alisha didn’t begrudge Rose anymore: Sorey had _needed_ a new Squire because she wasn’t adequate enough, and so he was fortunate to have found her. But at the same time, Alisha also hadn’t _wanted_ to stay ignorant to everything. That wasn’t her fault either. Sorey had come to see her before he had left for Camlann, and she could tell in just those ten minutes that he was terribly burdened with something; he had revealed more to her in his words and body language then than he had in all the other times she had run into him.

Alisha worried about him, especially now, and she wished Rose would just tell her what had happened. …But she supposed she was grateful she had finally given in this far at least.

She was about to lay down again and at least try to fall asleep to please Rose, when the other girl suddenly clapped her hands together.

“Hey, if we’re not going to sleep, how ‘bout a story?”

“H-Huh?!” Alisha exclaimed, flabbergasted. Rose looked pleased with her decision, and she couldn’t admit she was surprised. “…What kind of story?”

“Well, technically what I have in mind isn’t really a story. It’s more like… an account. …Although I guess part of it will be a story, depending on how far I go and how much you’re interested, haha…”

“I’m interested,” Alisha said, interrupting Rose as she was beginning to ramble. “Go ahead.” She leaned back against the cave wall slowly, making herself comfortable. Rose’s eyes widened, and she scoffed.

“If you’re thinking this will help you get to sleep, don’t expect that kind of sweet story. It’s just something… I think you should know about.”

Alisha smiled, bypassing the light insult. “I’m honored you finally feel like something is worth telling me about.” Rose cringed a little in response, but ultimately stared up at the ceiling nostalgically to begin her story.

“…There was… another seraph in our group, actually. You didn’t get to meet him. He was there when we met you on the bridge that one time, but that was the only time he saw you, and you couldn’t see him then so it doesn’t really count.”

Alisha’s mouth opened in shock, and she suddenly remembered Sorey telling her something similar the last time she had seen him. …So Rose would tell her about them instead of him.

“Is that so?” was all she decided to say, looking interested. She was definitely curious now to hear about this mysterious seventh member they had had, and why he was no longer in their group.

Rose nodded in response. “Yeah. His name was Dezel.” Her brow creased, and Alisha watched her closely. It seemed like saying his name affected her somehow, but was hiding her emotions, as Rose did.

_What is she going to tell me?_

“…Awhile back, I was part of a band of mercenaries called the Windriders,” Rose continued, looking nostalgic. “They were one of the most famous in Rolance; we were on good terms with the royal family…”

“So you were in another guild before the Sparrowfeathers? I see… but what does that have to do with Dezel?”

“Hold your horses; I’m getting there,” Rose said, waving her hands. “…Dezel and a close friend of his who was also a seraph followed us. Even though we couldn’t see them, they formed a kind of family with us. I feel honored they saw us that way even though we couldn’t do anything in return.” She smiled sadly, holding her hand to her heart.

“…To make a long story short, though, the Windriders eventually had to disband, due to… a crisis. We were framed for something we didn’t do.” Rose bit her lip, obviously remembering. “…Dezel was there when it happened. I don’t know all the details besides what I myself remember, but somehow his friend was killed in the chaos.”

“Oh no…” It was obvious to Alisha that Rose was omitting some details from this, but even still, she was amazed that the closed-off girl had told her this much. She was surprised they were getting into backstory first, but it was apparent that Rose thought this was crucial to tell her to give her a clearer image of Dezel. …It was important for what had happened in the present.

“Yeah… Then we became the Sparrowfeathers. We couldn’t use our old identity anymore and had to lay low. As for Dezel… You know that girl wet met in the caverns on our way here? Who pretended to be Maltran?”

“Oh yes… her.” Alisha had a strange respect for the purple-haired girl for giving her the closure she needed, but she sensed Rose and the others did not care for her in the slightest.

“She’s a special type of seraph whose blessing only brings misfortune, nothing good. Well… I’m not sure why specifically, but Dezel was fixated on her. He believed she was the cause of everything that had happened to us and his friend… he was intent on getting revenge on her. It was the only thing that gave him purpose in his life anymore.” Rose swallowed thickly, rubbing her hand over the floor slowly. “So he… he would take over my body sometimes. It wasn’t a proper armatization; he didn’t know how or have the ability to do that. He simply used me as his vessel at night when I would normally be sleeping so that it didn’t cause huge gaps in my memories, and tried to get closer and closer to his revenge by leading the guild where he wanted it to go.”

Alisha’s jaw dropped in shock. “W-What are you saying?! How could anyone do something so… so… _disturbing?_ It’s terrible that that happened to him, and that such a thing was his only reason for living… but that doesn’t excuse such vile actions.” She glanced up at Rose warily. “How could he drag you all, who he called his family, into his plans?”

“…You know, you’re right,” Rose said, smiling sadly. “I wish Dezel hadn’t gone behind my back like that. He didn’t have any way to talk to any of us before we joined Sorey, but he could have then. He just… kept to himself. Didn’t trust that any of us would be able to help him… I guess after being alone for so long, you adopt that mindset and it’s hard to break out of it.”

Alisha frowned. The way Rose talked about him… she didn’t sound like she was mad, not really. More _sad_ about the fact that it had been kept a secret from her, and not angry that she’d been violated in such a way. It confused, but also fascinated her. She wanted to hear the rest… but the way Rose was talking, she worried where it was going to go.

“Anyway, I won’t go into the details, but I became Sorey’s Squire when we found out I had high resonance, due to… all that.” There was an awkward pause before she continued. “It was at that time when I first became aware of Dezel. …It’s really funny, actually: I’m terrified of ghosts and things of that sort, always have been. When Sorey first let me hear the seraphim by blocking off his senses for me, I almost went through the roof!” She started laughing, and Alisha giggled too, imagining the sight.

“He used that trick for me too, before I became his Squire. It was awe-inspiring, to hear the voices of these legendary beings that only I felt like I believed in.”

Rose smirked, still laughing a little. “Of course it wouldn’t faze you at all. Me, though, I was terrified! …Even though I’d had a ghost of sorts with me all that time.” Her eyes shined, and she inhaled slowly. “…Sometimes… I had a feeling there was someone with me. Surprisingly enough, though, that feeling never scared me like it really should have, all things considered.”

“That is strange…” _He’s really important to her._

“But yeah, we both joined up with him. Dezel could use the armatization with me now… I think the others found out about what he had done with me in the past, though not the specifics of “why” of course. …But they didn’t tell me either.” Rose sighed heavily. “If they had, maybe we could have kept all that from happening…”

She trailed off, and Alisha bit her lip. She thought back to how Sorey had talked to her before, and remembered how they had kept Lady Maltran’s true identity from her until the last minute. He had alluded to something else as well; maybe this was what it was. Deep down, she felt annoyed that they would hide something so game-changing from poor Rose, even more than she did about them keeping Lady Maltran’s secret… but there was obviously more to it than that. Without having been there, she couldn’t fully understand.

“…Go on,” she finally said hesitantly.

“Sorry, I haven’t really told you what you really want to hear, right?” Rose chuckled nervously. “Anyway, Dezel traveled with us for a while. He was… how do I describe him in a better way than I have already?” She looked emotional, trying to find the right words. “…He kept very much to himself, as you could already gather probably. He didn’t show his emotions very much, and the one he showed eighty percent of the time was annoyed, usually at our antics. …But there were a few things that got him excited. Well, excited as much as he could be.”

“Oh? What were those?”

“Nature, and food.” Rose grinned fondly, leaning back against the wall. “He would always tell us what species of animal or plant we were looking at when we were around them, it was adorable. And he was a surprisingly good cook! His madelines, mmmm…”

“He sounds like he’s very knowledgeable,” Alisha commented. “I’m glad it sounded like he enjoyed himself at least a little bit.”

“Yeah… me too… Heh, he taught some of us his skills. He acted like it was a pain in the ass the entire time, but I know that secretly he didn’t mind. …I still remember a bunch of puppies surrounding him that one time and him talking to each and every one of them; it was the cutest thing in the world.”

Alisha tried to picture the person Rose had described up until now talking to dogs as if they were people. It was hard to imagine, for sure, but there was also something endearing about the idea.

“…I really first became in awe of him when we found out he was blind.”

Alisha jerked her head up at Rose’s words, dumbstruck. “…B-Blind?”

“Yeah,” Rose said quietly. Her voice was breaking a little. “He said she destroyed his eyes. We should have guessed sooner, really: he had shaggy hair that hung in front of his eyes and it would have been impossible to see through that. …Instead, since he was a wind seraph, he used the wind to help him feel things. It was as if he didn’t have his disability at all.”

“That’s… I’m amazed,” Alisha said, the awe in her voice evident. “I’ve never thought about how a seraph could be so in tune with their element that it could help for something like that… how fortunate that it helped him. I imagine he took a long time to get used to it.”

Rose nodded. “Yeah, he did… Actually, I guess I should have said this first. He fought the same way that Zaveid does, with the same weapon… because Zaveid taught him.”

“Oh!” Alisha exclaimed, putting her hand to her mouth. “I can see that then. How interesting, I always thought his fighting style was unique.”

“I liked watching him, especially after finding out about his secret, for sure,” Rose agreed. She hesitated, and her face yet again grew pained.

“…Rose?”

“S-Sorry, I’m just, uh, thinking about how to tell the rest…” Rose swayed her body forwards and back, obviously conflicted, and Alisha waited patiently (while also worrying).

“…Well, eventually we ran into Symmone, the purple girl and the one Dezel was looking to enact vengeance on. …She revealed what he had been doing with me all those years prior, and Dezel, um, kind of lost it. He armatized with me and attacked her, and…”

Her voice died out, and Alisha, sensing she was having trouble, interrupted her quietly.

“You can stop now, if you want. You don’t have to force yourself.”

“…N-Nah, I’m good,” Rose said hoarsely, running her fingers through her hair absentmindedly. “…I didn’t get the details until later… but apparently, Dezel was in the dark too. He had blocked it out of his memory due to trauma… but what happened to us back then… was his fault. Not Symmone’s. She must have just been there, I don’t know, so that he saw her and latched onto her as something to direct his anger at. …But she didn’t do anything except maybe taunt him. The true seraph of misfortune… was him.”

Alisha’s heart sank.

“...Dezel only wanted he and his friend to be able to keep traveling with the Windriders. We were asked to officially become part of the Rolance empire, so that would have been the end of our traveling days. Dezel… didn’t want that. But wishes from seraphs turn into blessings. And his blessing… was a terrible one. Everything that happened then… was his fault… and he didn’t remember the truth until the worst possible moment.”

Rose squeezed her eyes shut, and hugged herself. Alisha watched her sadly, not sure how to feel anymore. She remembered how she felt when she found out that Lady Maltran’s words of encouragement and love to her all that time had been nothing more than sweet nothings whispered to her to set her up to be the girl she wanted her to be for her future plans. She was a puppet, and Maltran the puppeteer. Not only that, but she had spent so many nights since that fateful day wondering if she could have saved her if she’d just found out sooner. Not “sooner” as in when Sorey and the others found out, no: years ago.

That moment had without a doubt been her lowest point, and she’d felt like she was indirectly responsible for her mother figure’s demise.

Alisha couldn’t even imagine how it would feel to be _directly_ responsible for a much greater tragedy.

“A-After that, both I and Dezel in my body got fatally wounded by the hellion she created in Dezel’s moment of shock. I became absorbed with the hellion, and was virtually doomed. …But then Dezel, h-he, uh… He… s-saved me, and… and… he, uh…”

Alisha watched as tears streamed down Rose’s face, and from her expression, it seemed like she hadn’t expected them to fall, despite how more and more strained her voice had sounded as the story had gone on. Without a word, she scooted over to Rose’s side of the cave and wrapped her arms around her, squeezing her eyes tight. She’d suspected this had been the outcome not far into Rose’s account, but she hadn’t wanted it to be true. Rose didn’t reciprocate the hug, but let herself be leaned to the side in Alisha’s embrace, still looking numb.

“I t-talked to him… he told me he was sorry for everything, b-but that he was happy he got to save me.” Rose hiccupped loudly, and Alisha rubbed her head soothingly, shushing her.

“I told him… I forgave him… not that it was enough… a-and he t-told me to tell the others not to mope around over him, and that he was happy he got to travel with us. Told them to… to keep doing what they had to do. And then… that was the last we ever saw of him. The last _I_ ever saw.”

Alisha noted how Rose didn’t use the word “died.”

“Sorey cried into Mikleo for a good amount of time after he thought the rest of us were gone,” Rose said numbly after her tears had been exhausted. “…Lailah sent a paper bird she had folded into the sky to honor him, as is custom for some people.”

At this, a few tears finally escaped Alisha’s eyes, and her heart truly broke. This was one of the reasons, probably the biggest reason, Sorey had seemed so tired around her the last time. So emotionally drained.

Dezel was who he had wanted to tell her about.

“…The next morning, Zaveid joined us. Took his place and filled the hole in our group without hesitation… though I’d like to think he felt at least a little upset,” Rose continued, sounding more like her jaded self again. “…That hat he always wears was his.”

Alisha’s heart stopped. _I always thought… it didn’t look like it fit him…_

She bit her lip, hoping her words would be an appropriate reaction to Rose breaking character and spilling her heart out to her.

“…It sounds like Dezel truly was happy in the end, and made up for what he did. And I’m sure he was very happy for the time he got to spend with you all.” She sighed wistfully, still holding onto Rose. “I wish… I had gotten to meet him.”

“But how _could_ he be happy?!” Rose cried, ignoring her last sentence. “Alisha, I don’t understand… we didn’t understand how much he was suffering until it was too late. How could he forgive us so easily?” She turned to Rose forcefully, some tears still on her face. It felt like a child seeking solace from its mother, and Alisha was surprised and equal parts saddened by this.

Still, she had to say how she truly felt.

“Rose… you didn’t do _anything_ Dezel needed to forgive you for. What he did to you in the past was wrong, plain and simple.” Rose started to object, but Alisha knew what she would counter with. “It doesn’t matter that you didn’t know. …Well it does, but it doesn’t matter in relation to what I’m trying to say.” She took a deep breath. “It’s only natural that someone who is closed off all the time, you wouldn’t force to get to open up more. It has to happen naturally. …And it sounds like it _did_.”

Alisha smiled sadly, letting go of Rose, who was stilling staring at her like a confused child.

“He enjoyed being with you all, just like he said; do you really think he would lie? He liked talking about all those favorite things of his, just like you described. It made him happy.” Her voice grew soft. “…And saving you made him happy as well.”

Rose’s eyes teared up again, and she looked down at her lap, her voice quivering. “I just… wish we had done more for him… so much more.”

“I know, Rose. …But you did the most you could for him. And he appreciated it. …That’s all that matters.”

She stood up slowly, smiling down at Rose. “Thank you… for being willing to tell me about such a special person. I feel truly honored. …When I see Sorey tomorrow, I want to tell him I know about his other friend now.”

Alisha headed back over to where she had been trying to sleep before, feeling genuinely tired by now. She felt Rose’s gaze on her back.

Eventually, Rose finally spoke up.

“Alisha...”

“Yes?” she asked, turning around to face her. Rose waved her hand through the air slowly, and finally continued quietly, giving her a sad smile.

“You can feel him in the wind; he’s always there. …I’m sure he’d love to hear from you.”

**Author's Note:**

> I had to avoid revealing the full extent of what Dezel did because I doubt Rose would want to reveal to Alisha that their guild was made into an assassin's guild. It was kind of tricky to work around that detail, but I hope it still flowed well and sounded believable.


End file.
